American Idol Season 9 Top 24 Ladies Night

Disclaimer: In the following 85 paragraphs, I say a whole lot of nothing. Be Warned. Some people critique each performance and give you intelligent and insightful commentary. I'm not one of them. This is more of a stream of consciousness type of Idol recap. If you were in my living room with me, this is what you would hear me saying...

I'm so stinkin' excited about this season!! I know I said this last year, but everyone is so super talented this year!!! I'm geeked to see how they do live. It never fails a few of the folks that seem amazing totally choke.

What are ya'll thinking about Ellen? I think thus far, (Hollywood week) she has done a good job of balancing funny and sticking to the job at hand. I'm anxious to see how she does tonight. I'm not noticing Pauler's absence as much as I thought I would… I'm always resistant to change, but it seems like this might be really good. I really don't miss the third grade antics between Pauler and Simon.

Paige Miles ~ “It’s All Right Now”

I don't remember anything about Paige. And I'm really not feeling this performance. Not that it's not good, because I think she's doing well - I'm just not blown away. Hmmm. I COMPLETELY disagree with Simon. I can think of several other girls that are way better. In my humble opinion, of course… I guess I'm the only one that didn't love it. Sewn into her outfit? Oh no, ma'am. That's what I would have said to that seamstress.

Ashley Rodriguez ~ “Happy”

Now Ashley is memorable. I remember loving her! And I think she is stunningly beautiful. Ugh. I'm not loving this song at all. I don't know if it's because I don't know it or if it's just a poor choice. She sounded okay, just not rockin' my world. Oh, poor girl. That can not be fun to hear that from them. Let's just hope she doesn't take all of their advice and then they berate her for that next week. I hate it when they do that!

Janell Wheeler ~ “What About Love”

Oh boy. Am I hypercritical tonight? I really like this girl, but I feel like she is doing a terrible job. I definitely think she is uber nervous, so maybe that's all it is?

{Okay - I was so excited to watch this ALL DAY, but I cannot stand sitting through commercials. I'll take a super sized bowl of ice cream and an episode of 24, please.)

And I'm back.

Lilly Scott ~ “Fixing A Hole”

Wow. Is it me or is Lilly the most original girl we've ever seen on American Idol? In every sense, she is super unique. Her look, her sound. Now, I wouldn't leave the house looking like that, but somehow it seems to work for her. This song is not my favorite, and I can't say I've ever even heard it, but I'm guessing she is putting her mark on it, and based on feedback so far tonight, I can only hope the judges will appreciate that. I should say - I love her dress tonight. Past outfits, I definitely wouldn't wear to the mailbox. 4 stars for Lilly according to the judges. I love when I'm right.

(Hip Hip HOOOOray for fast forwarding through commercials!)GOOOOO TiVo!)

Katelyn Epperly ~ “Oh, Darlin’”

Girly can sang! I love her voice! I remember her, for sure. It would be hard to forget that hair. I don't recall loving her, but I could see myself loving her. Very soulful. I liked it.

Haeley Vaughn ~ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”

Oh My Word! I'm just loving the originality of the girls this year!! I think back to Blake Lewis, one of the original originals, if you will. David Cooke. Adam Lambert. Oh, stop hissing. Adam was/is a lot of things and original is one of them. I can't really think of any girls who did super cool, super original things, and this year it looks like we'll be making up for lost time! I've been pulling for Haeley. I just think she is the cutest. Wow. I think that was awesome! Love her love her love her. Oh, stuff it Simon. I'm with Ellen. Or E, as Randy so affectionately refers to her.

Lacey Brown ~ “Landslide”

Hey! I just realized that she totally reminds me of my friend Grace! First things first. I am not a fan of the Fleetwood Mac, and I'm especially not a fan of this song. She is definitely mixing it up. Seems very nervous, but it sounds pretty good. My prediction is that at least 3 out of 4 judges are going to love it. Oh and I don't love it when I'm wrong. I should say, I don't know squizot about the technical side of anything. I just know when I think it sounds good and when I don't. Sometimes I think someone is totally singing in the key of off and then the judges are like THATWASAWESOME. All that to say, what do I know? PS - I could have just deleted my little prediction, but I'm keepin' it real, yo.

Michelle Delamor ~ “Falling”

How funny that she's singing an Alicia Keys song. I think she looks a lot like her. I thought that the first time I saw her and every time after! I love her hair. Sounds good, but not amazing for me.

Didi Benami ~ “The Way I Am”

Ok. Let me just say that I really connect with Didi's story. The beginning of this month marked the 8 year anniversary of losing my oldest and dearest friend and so, let me just tell you when she cried at her audition, I did too. I also loved the audition where she sang Kara's song. I think she is beautiful and has a great voice. I'm really pulling for her. I don't know this song, though I feel like someone (her?) sang it during auditions. Something about this performance is reminding me of Megan Joy (was that her name?) who I LOVED at the beginning of last year right up until the point that she got incredibly annoying and then wouldn't go away. Please don't do that to me, Didi. Please.

Siobhan Magnus ~“Wicked Game”

Is it me or is this a weird song choice? I feel like she sang it well. Very low. I feel like she is one that didn't get a lot of airtime until the end of Hollywood week, so it seems like I'm not as acquainted with her as I am with many of the other gals, tonight. The producers have definitely honed their skills of drawing us in to the contestants… People like her (read: Kris Allen) really get robbed when people don't know them as well as other contestants. Okay - I guess Kris Allen didn't get robbed. What with the winning and all...

Crystal Bowersox ~ “Hand In My Pocket”

She is hands down one of my favorites from the auditions. I think she could skip all this silliness and go make an album and start counting her money now. I can't wait to see what she does. Great song choice. (She hasn't even strummed a note yet and I know it's going to be awesome!!!!!!!!) Ok. She sounded great, and while I find it incredibly awesome that she can play two instruments when I sometimes struggle playing my iPod effectively, I think she should chill with the harmonica. That was like an entire verse she could have sang (sung?). I don't think it will hurt her. I'm very anxious to quit typing and unpause to see if the judges comment on that. Nope. But I think it had to do with some of their constructive criticism.

Katie Stevens ~ “Feelin’ Good”

I could have sworn this girl didn't make it through. Didn't she cry and wail because they said it wasn't her time? Did something weird happen or did I bump my head? Maybe I'm confused. Okay - I must be confused. I was thinking maybe there was some drama like one of the contestants that got through ended up having a rap sheet longer than what and got booted so they called her back in. Oh I can hatch up a good conspiracy theory, can I not? Apparently, it's door #2 and I bumped my head. I'll have it looked at. Wow. She's like a female David Archuletta. Child prodigy. Very good!

Well - not bad for the first night. My predictions for the bottom 2... Ashley Rodriguez and Lacey Brown? I really don't know. I certainly can't wait to find out, though!

Thanks for reading!

I'm A Crock Star!

I have pretty much given up on real cooking. If I can't fling it in the crock pot, we're probably not eating it. Seriously, it's less mess, less standing there chopping, stirring, backing etc. etc. etc.

I know part of the problem is that it's really no fun trying to do any extensive cooking (or anything else, for that matter) with a 22 month old under foot. So, if I can literally fling 7 things in the crock pot by 12 noon and know that not only will we have a hot dinner, but I will also likely have the energy to clean up afterward? Uh, yes please! Sign me up for Monday through Friday. Well, not Tuesday. My step-mom cooks for us on Tuesday. I know, how lucky am I?

Yesterday I fed Chloe kidney beans and corn for lunch. Well, I should say I served it to her. She mostly threw it on the floor, resulting in more time out than lunch. Are we having fun yet?

Anyway - needless to say there was plenty of leftover beans and corn, so I thought I'd make some rendition of taco soup or something similar. I have had a bag of bean juice (broth from making black beans in the crock pot to freeze) in my freezer for, let's say, awhile, so I thought that would be a good base. I popped that in there and cranked it to high. Once that was about thawed, I added the kidney beans, corn, a can of tomatoes with green chillies, and a can of black beans. I put in a tablespoon each of cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder. I put a chicken bouillon cube in there too. I had planned to brown some ground beef, taco it up and fling that in there, but I had two very old, very freezer burned ziplocks of beef that were past the point of no return. Probably because I started browning my beef before freezing it, so of course, I always use that instead of raw. We went ahead and said bye bye to the bad beef.

Hmmm... Veggie soup? Not sounding terribly filling. I pulled out a few boneless skinless chicken thighs and let them thaw for a few. I diced a red onion and sauteed that and the chicken, which I cubed when it had thawed a bit, in olive oil. I then put the entire contents of the pan into the crock pot cranked it back up to high to finish cooking the chicken and about 2 hours later? All three of us cleaned our bowls! I had no idea what to expect, but it was delicious! I just had to write it down, so I can be sure to fling it all together again someday!

I also made my rendition of Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Here's the recipe. Prepare to swoon:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix these ingredients well in a large bowl. Once combined, add:

6 tbs. very cold butter and work it in with a pastry blender or a large fork. You want it to be the texture of coarse meal.

Next, add 1 cup of cheddar cheese and stir.

Finally, add 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of milk. You want very moist, though still sticky dough. You will then drop the biscuits about 1/4 cup each onto a baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the begin to turn a golden brown.

Once they come out of the oven, using a pastry brush, brush each biscuit with this mixture:

This is where the magic really happens:

3-4 tbs. melted butter

1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. salt

These biscuits are delicious and really go perfectly with this soup or anything similar.

Enjoy!